PACD seeks input from farmers and agricultural landowners from the Pennsylvania portion of the Delaware River Watershed about the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Focus groups will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on February 23 and 25, 2021. Farmers can participate in these discussions whether or not they have enrolled land in the program.

Please share this information with your farmer contacts in the Delaware Watershed.

All farmers who participate in the virtual focus group will receive $125 in return for their time. Registration is limited to 15 qualified farmers on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you are aged 55 or older, please register for the focus group on February 23 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.: https://bit.ly/pacd-de-1

If you are aged 54 or younger, please register for the focus group on February 25 from 5:00 p.m. to 7 p.m.: https://bit.ly/pacd-de-2

Questions? Contact PACD Director of Communications & Education Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org.

Photo courtesy of USDA-NRCS.

Let’s learn from each other to increase the success of environmental education (EE) grant funding in Pennsylvania! Join successful grant writers and funding agency program officers for this FREE virtual workshop on EE grant-writing tips and tricks. Presenters from Stroud Water Research Center, the PA Department of Education, the PA Department of Environmental Protection, Millersville University, and NOAA will introduce the world of funding, describe how to read a request for proposal (RFP), give tips for success, explore where to find EE grants, and facilitate Q&A.

When: Thursday, February 18, 2021, from 4:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m.

Where: Online via Zoom video conferencing. The connection link will be emailed prior to the event.

Audience: Pennsylvania classroom teachers, non-formal environmental educators, school administrators. 1.5 Act 48 hours are available for Pennsylvania certified teachers. A certificate of participation will be provided for other attendees if needed.

Cost: Free

Registration: Required. Limited to the first 100 participants registered.

Learn more and register today! 

The 2021 Erosion Control Workshop, presented by Allegheny, Butler, and Washington County Conservation Districts, includes eight webinars, with one held at 1 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday in February. The Erosion Control Workshop is an annual event for municipalities, contractors, consultants, developers, engineers, and other land development professionals. The cost is $15 per webinar.

• Identifying and Mitigating Acid-Forming Materials, Tuesday, February 2
• PA DEP Regulatory Updates, Thursday, February 4
• Application of Managed Release Concept BMP, Tuesday, February 9
• Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), Thursday, February 11
• NPDES Construction Stormwater – Common Deficiencies, Tuesday, February 16
• Conservation Districts and MS4 Pollutant Reduction Plans, Thursday, February 18
• Hey Engineer! Why Did My Embankment Slide into a Mine?, Tuesday, February 23
• Green Stormwater Infrastructure Projects, Thursday, February 25

Click here for more information. 

PACD will hold virtual meetings for all six PACD committees and PACD Executive Council via Zoom this January. Committees will meet between January 8 and 21, followed by PACD Executive Council on January 28.

Registration is open to all conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff, as well as partner agency staff and invited guests. Registration for each meeting is free and required. Registrants will receive a link to the Zoom meeting and instructions to participate. A phone number will also be provided for anyone who wishes to participate via conference call.

Please email the listed contact to request a registration link:

PACD Conservation Committee Video Conference
January 8, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.
Contact mburns@pacd.org to request a registration link

PACD Legislative Committee Video Conference
January 11, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.
Contact mburns@pacd.org to request a registration link

PACD District Employees Committee Video Conference
January 12, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.
Contact abrown@pacd.org to request a registration link

PACD Education and Outreach Committee Video Conference
January 14, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.
Contact swehinger@pacd.org to request a registration link

PACD Ways and Means Committee Video Conference
January 19, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.
Contact lsuhr@pacd.org to request a registration link

PACD Operations Committee Video Conference
January 21, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.
Contact mburns@pacd.org to request a registration link

PACD Executive Council Video Conference
January 28, 2021
Contact mburns@pacd.org to request a registration link

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is offering free technical training to Pennsylvania’s conservation districts on native plants and pollinators. The webinar will take place Thursday, February 18, 2021, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am.

Training Description:

Proper plant selection is the first step to ensuring the success of ecological conservation and habitat development projects for native wildlife and pollinators. In this Pennsylvania-focused technical training, conservation district participants will learn about resources available from multiple agencies to help improve planning for native species plantings. Participants will receive an overview of Pennsylvania-specific climate adaptation resources that can be used to make an informed decision on plant selection. Participants will also gain an understanding of at-risk pollinator and wildlife species needs and user-friendly modeling that can be used to aid in proper planning and better communication with landowners.

Presenters:

Amy Brown, PACD Program Manager
Greg Czarnecki, PA DCNR Director of Applied Climate Science
Peter Hoagland, USDA NRCS State Forester
Kathy Patnode, USFWS Fish & Wildlife Biologist
John Taucher, PGC Private Lands Section Chief

Click here to register by February 16, 2021. 

 

Mark your calendar for your Spring 2021 PACD Region Meeting! All six meetings will take place virtually in March and April of 2021.

PACD South Central Region Video Conference
March 16, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon

PACD North Central Region Video Conference
March 18, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon

PACD South East Region Video Conference
March 25, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon

PACD South West Region Video Conference
March 30, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon

PACD North West Region Video Conference
April 8, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon

PACD North East Region Video Conference
April 16, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon

The Columbia County Conservation District held a “Haunted Trails” event at their district-owned Kocher Nature Park on Saturday, October 24, 2020. Approximately 150 adults and children came through the trails, which the district carefully designed with social distancing protocols and lots of environmental education opportunities!

Mark your calendars for the winter round of PACD committees, which will take place via video conference prior to the virtual 2021 PACD Executive Council Meeting. Registration will be both free and required. Registration information will go out to conservation districts and agency partners in November.

PACD Conservation Committee Video Conference
January 8, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.

PACD Legislative Committee Video Conference
January 11, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.

PACD District Employees Committee Video Conference
January 12, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.

PACD Education and Outreach Committee Video Conference
January 14, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.

PACD Ways and Means Committee Video Conference
January 19, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.

PACD Operations Committee Video Conference
January 21, 2021 | 10-11 a.m.

The winter 2021 PACD Executive Council Meeting will take place as a video conference on January 28 at 10:00 a.m. Committees will meet virtually prior to the Executive Council session, so watch future editions of Front Page for committee dates. Need to update your district’s slate of voting delegates prior to January? Contact Molly with PACD at mburns@pacd.org.

Nearly 100 attendees, including 69 watershed specialists, participated in the 20^th Annual Conservation District Watershed Specialist Meeting, held virtually October 6-8, 2020.

Each day featured over four hours of virtual learning. Over the three half-days, participants: learned how to develop a community data collection project that delivers results; received an update on the 2020 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report; learned about stream redesignations and water quality standards; discovered how the 10 Million Trees project could contribute to their projects; and learned how to use online tools such as Macroinvertebrates.org, Model My Watershed, and Leaf Pack Network.

Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.